What is a team and why teams are important? A team: is a group of people working together towards a common goal. The prime advantage to working in teams is the ability to combine skills and talents. An academic or work team benefits from a wide array of skills that no single student or employee could possess alone, from analytical skills to marketing skills to technical skills and everything in between. Complex projects at school or in the workplace demand all of these skills, especially when things need to get done in a specific time frame. Savvy employers look for employees who are good team players. However, working on a team is not always easy, as you can tell by the disadvantages that appear in Key 1

Teamwork and collaboration : Collaboration is the lifeblood of any team. Even when project teams are not large or global, collaboration is essential. Collaboration: is the act of working effectively with others to achieve a common goal. It needs to be built on trust, which can only be achieved through honesty, openness, consistency, and respect. 1. Honesty means that team members tell one another the truth, not just what each wants to hear. They feel comfortable disclosing problems so that other members can join in the problem‐solving process and help overcome obstacles.

2. Openness means that team members are not afraid to say what is on their minds; they do not fear repercussions for communicating their thoughts. They share information because they are confident that people won’t make fun of their ideas. 3. Consistency means that each team member works, and interacts, in a consistent manner. This allows members of the team to know what to expect from one another. Progress toward a goal can suffer when team members are inconsistent with their work, meeting attendance, communication, or even mood. 4. Respect means that team members see one another as vital parts of the team. They speak and behave respectfully toward one another. They listen to everyone’s ideas without judgment, and offer constructive criticism.

To get an idea of what the four components of trust look like, consider two teams, as in Key 2. One operates on distrust and competition (Team A), and the other operates on trust and collaboration (Team B). Both teams consist of people who have never before worked together. And both teams have been tasked with coming up with a “give to get” idea that will attract more customers to buy a new cell phone product. Which team is most likely to get the job done, on time and with good quality results? What all this means is that in a collaborative environment founded on trust, team members can stay focused, communicate more clearly, and help one another succeed, which consistently leads to better outcomes. The idea of collaboration may take some time to get used to in a culture of competition fostered by sports, media, and business. But in the end, the benefits of collaboration almost always trump the results of a focus on competition. Alfie Cohen, a well‐known author of books on human behavior and education, conducted over 400 studies to research the effects of competition on classrooms and organizations. The results? (1) Competition is not required for optimal results and (2) optimal results usually require an absence of competition. Cohen found that in the workplace when people started working together, rather than working against each other, productivity increased dramatically.2 Advantages and Disadvantages of Teamwork Key 1 Generates multiple ideas for solving problems, making it easier to resolve issues. Provides wide pool of talents, letting members work together to complete tasks. Strengthens bonds between employees and improves their job satisfaction. Slows down the problem-solving process because of discussion and disagreements. This is particularly true when teams grow larger. As a result, deadlines may be compromised. Potentially challenging for employees who prefer working alone or are not comfortable working with people with widely divergent skills and backgrounds. Allows some team members to do less work than others and not participate as much. ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

How do you and others interact in a team? Now that you have a sense of what a team is and what teamwork involves, it’s time to look at personality types that make up a team. Start with your own personality, because an important step in the process of understanding others is to understand yourself. Take a look at the four most common workplace personalities. These personalities also apply to working in groups on academic projects and appear in different quadrants of Key 3. Your position in a quadrant depends on your level of comfort communicating with others and on how people‐ oriented you are. Descriptions of the different personality types follow. As you read them, think about which personality sounds like you. Remember, no one is ever 100 percent one personality. Each person generally has one or two quadrants in which they are most comfortable, but may have elements of other quadrants and can operate in other modes when necessary.

■ Driver: These individuals are action‐oriented and more concerned with results than with people. In general, people who are drivers are good communicators and are adept at telling you what they want and when they want it. Conversely, they do not tend to be the best listeners. Here are some of their typical qualities. ▶ Decisive ▶ Direct ▶ Assertive ▶ Risk taker ▶ Competitive ▶ Independent ▶ Demanding

■ Analytical: These individuals are data‐oriented and more concerned with facts than with people. In general, people who are analytical are skilled at organizing information and analyzing it in a logical manner. They are usually good with details and appreciate structure. Their communication skills are often not well‐developed and they tend to have difficulty making decisions because they tend to need “more data.” * Here are some of their typical qualities. ▶ Precise ▶ Orderly ▶ Deliberate ▶ Cautious ▶ Logical ▶ Systematic ▶ Controlled

■ Amiable: These individuals are people‐oriented. They are very concerned with how people get along. In general, people who are amiable are dependable, loyal, and easy‐going. They do not enjoy dealing with hard facts and impersonal details, and prefer interacting with people. They are usually described as warm and sensitive, and know how to make decisions based on how they feel. Here are some of their typical qualities. ▶ Loyal ▶ Sympathetic ▶ Empathetic ▶ Supportive ▶ Patient ▶ Considerate ▶ Trusting

■ Expressive: These individuals are expression‐oriented. They enjoy coming up with ideas and sharing them with others. They are typically very social and like helping others. They like to express themselves verbally and can be quite dramatic. Although they are good idea‐generators, they are often poor at following through or making decisions. Here are some of their typical qualities. ▶ Verbal ▶ Motivating ▶ Enthusiastic ▶ Charming ▶ Influential ▶ Optimistic ▶ Animated